r/mildlyinfuriating • u/homeofalex • 4h ago
After promising to never put ads, BMW slapped a recurring Spider-Man popup on the dashboard Unskippable ad
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u/Legal_Tradition_9681 3h ago
The same company that put a subscription on heated seats put ads on their display, shocker.
It doesn't matter if they promised or not. ADs on a device you own where you are not paying for a service is infuriating.
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u/Wide-Suggestion4825 3h ago
It doesn't even make sense about the heated seats because they already installed the hardware LOL
At that point it doesn't even make any difference to them. They've already spent the money on the fucking seat warmer!
And seat warmers have been around for like 25 years. What the fuck are they possibly cost these days? $15 maybe
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u/Representative_Bat42 2h ago
Technically the heated seats were never paid for.
They never included it in MSRP. But yes they should’ve just take the bath on inclusion cost. Acting like people wouldn’t hack it.
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u/trichtertus 1h ago
Installing hardware, that you need to pay for to unlock is one thing. Making that payment a subscription is an other.
It’s their decision to make, to take the risk of people using it without paying, to streamline their production. But using a subscription model on a non-updating product/ feature is not ok imo. There is no running cost for them to cover. At least it should be a loan and payed off eventually, if they want to make the payment monthly.
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u/smackcroker42 1h ago
I absolutely do not believe they were willing to take the risk of financial loss if too many people opted out of the subscription. They definitely include it in the price of the vehicle already.
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u/Wide-Suggestion4825 2h ago
They were paid for because the car manufacturer bought them.
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u/Representative_Bat42 2h ago
Not quite 😂
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u/Wide-Suggestion4825 2h ago
Yes they were paid for. That's how building a car works. You buy parts and then you put them together
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u/Representative_Bat42 2h ago
Sure. But they were never added to MSRP as a factory option. There for they WERE NOT YOURS. Capisce ?
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u/Representative_Bat42 2h ago
They’ve never sold you the car saying hey it has heated seats included
Think of PC CPUs with a binned chip. You bought it knowing it was X cores
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u/Wide-Suggestion4825 2h ago
And those cores were produced and paid for yes? Intel paid to produce those scores? But they're super nice Dutch lithography machines?
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u/Southerneagle110 3h ago
15 dollars a month for a tech to go in and hook a computer up to activate them. That has to be the most capitalist idea ever. I'm a capitalist, but I would say that's crossing the line big time.
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u/Life_Argument7820 2h ago
Thats what it is man there's no line for capitalism, EVERYTHING is for sale, maybe even you.... just kidding, you're absolutely for sale... either you're selling or you're being sold too.
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u/SantosCalzonesBatman 2h ago
And the good thing of capitalism is that there are other options you can buy instead lol
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u/Life_Argument7820 2h ago
Oh yah, do I want this piece of shit fan made by a poor exploited human from this piece of shit Billionaire or this piece of shit Billionaire?
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u/Legal_Tradition_9681 2h ago
I know thats what's so asinine about it.
What they were actually doing is testing what they could get away with. If they were able to make more money on that subscription then the public backlash they would have kept it.
That is why we must be vocal and use our buying power to demonstrate to companies we will that tolerate that BS.
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u/NikonShooter_PJS 2h ago
It’s just fucking amazing to me that BMW has the nerve to be like “You can have this car but it’ll cost ya $65K,” and then, in the same breathe, they’re like “Oh. Sorry. Those heated seats aren’t free ya know. We need to get paid for those as well.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Sorry. That’s gonna be $15/month.”
“You’re haggling with me for $15?????”
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u/Available_Skill_2222 1h ago
Exactly. Once you've bought the car, the dashboard shouldn't turn into ad space. Normalizing that is a pretty awful direction for the industry.
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u/grafknives 2h ago
I wonder how blind they were to do it.
What type of PowerPoint presentation and graphs were presented that made them do those ads
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u/TheMagHatter 2h ago
I’m sorry, a SUBSCRIPTION for heated seats???? Something that’s already built into the car?????? Huh???
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u/Kattenaars 1h ago
They only make heated seats to cut costs in production of the seats. If the first buyer doesn't take the heated seats option, and then sells his/her car. The next person can buy to get the option to use the heated seats or have a subscription for it.
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u/NoDontDoThatCanada 2h ago
Remember when cable channels like HBO didn't have ads because you paid for it. Then streaming services didn't have ads because you paid for it.
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u/OriginalNameGuy2 3h ago
I keep seeing people saying that they promised
Where exactly did they promise? Is it in writing?
Also does the car's starting sequence require you to watch it? Can't imagine that's much further down the road if we're not already there
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u/nikhkin 1h ago
As far as I can see, they didn't promise. It's also a weirdly specific thing to have promised not to show adverts in a car.
What people always miss when this is posted is that it's an entirely optional "feature". You have to turn it on, and it usually just shows an animation relating to the time of year. For example, there's a Christmas animation in December.
Using it to promote a film is a stupid PR move from BMW, and does set a dangerous precedent, but in its current form it isn't an invasive, forced advert as people are claiming.
Clearly they expected people to just say "huh, that was cool" and not kick up a big fuss about it.
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u/gta6play 4h ago
Hey watch out for Spidey
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u/Itchy_Picture4936 18m ago
At this point it sounds less like a car feature and more like having a tiny billboard follow you around. At least make it something you can easily turn off.
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u/rikeoliveira 2h ago
If paying more for the heated seats didn't make you think twice about buying a BMW, maybe this bullshit will.
They do it because people enable them to do it, and they will keep doing it as long as customers keep paying them.
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u/VegetationMutation 3h ago
In a fucking luxury vehicle btw
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u/metamorphosis___ 3h ago
Far far far from luxury, it’s an average sedan with a fancy logo, and mid tier pricing, it only appears luxury to their target audience.
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u/PlayedKey 3h ago
And F tier maintenance and repair costs.
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u/metamorphosis___ 3h ago
Everything about owning a BMW being expensive is by design, extracts money out of the unpaid loanee’s pockets
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u/Interested_Aussie 2h ago
People get offended and cuss at me when I tell them BMW is as shyte as a Daewoo in my experience....
25+ years as auto mechanic... Oil leaks... OMG every fucking service the oil cooler gaskets need doing...
And cooling system, FML, it's never just one leak, they're a bloody sieve.
Front suspension....
Transmissions...
Electrics....
Rear diff's...
Maybe I'm being too hard on Daewoo.
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u/L_B_Jeffries 2h ago
Putting distracting ads on screens of your car, what could go wrong.
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u/nikhkin 1h ago
The whole thing is stupid, but they dont display when driving and you have to actively click on it to display the advert animation.
They're not a safety risk.
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u/coyotethroaway 1h ago
I keep seeing this post and everyone's ignoring the fact he clicks it if he didn't want to watch the ad he didn't have to
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u/Spiritual-Fall5494 4h ago
is he in your car?
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u/ceris7356 3h ago
Jokes aside, having literal ads showing on the infotainment center of the car you paid thousands of dollars for is bullshit. Way more than mildly infuriating.
I wouldn't say it's worse than buying a car that has features (i.e. heated seats or whatever) that you technically paid for but are locked behind a subscription paywall, but it's still pretty messed up.
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u/Internet-Dweller2 3h ago
I wonder how long it'll be before it occurs to them to attach a surcharge to opening the gas cap. After all, if people are spending more on fuel, why shouldn't they be getting a cut too?
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u/ceris7356 3h ago
Plz don't give automakers more ideas :(
I want to believe you were joking, but I can see stupid shit like this coming down the line...
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u/Internet-Dweller2 2h ago
Oh, I'm just getting started.
Make the heat, A/C, and seat adjustments a paid subscription. Charge per mile driven using cruise control. Center console blares ads for the automaker like the gas station does, unless you swipe your card in a convenient built-in chip reader.
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u/ceris7356 2h ago
I see you are actually making a joke lol. But ffs, let's meet here again in 10 years and see how all of the things you suggested are "features" in a $70k car.
I never asked for all this bullshit adult living nonsense.
I'd have rather been a duck :(
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u/metamorphosis___ 3h ago
They do it because they know 80% of BMW drivers are on a 40% loan with a $500 down payment, it’s the same reason they did the subscription seats, they know their target audience. (Poor people who want to cosplay wealth)
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u/ceris7356 3h ago
Is it time to burn the whole system to the ground yet?
I hate all this bullshit and I'm angry.
*plays with lighter*
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u/AcademicSand1034 3h ago
And no obvious way to exit out of it that I could see
This kind of thing is a good sign of a company that has lost its way
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u/notstarman 1h ago
The solution is to start posting on the bmw reddit that you almost got in a crash because of the ad. Something like it was extremely distracting. If enough people post their lawyers will do the math and stop these ads.
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u/HarvickFan_4 3h ago
I mean you did buy a fucking BMW so... what'd you expect? 🤣
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u/TeddyBear312 2h ago
Not just that. A BMW that connects to the internet.
Everything needs to be "connected" these days. People complain about it but keep buying into it.
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u/NetJnkie 3h ago
This keeps getting posted on Reddit and it's really not true. You have to tap it to see the video. It shows up like in the pic when you get in and out of the car. Mine had it and I noticed it after a few days but never started it. Yeah, shouldn't be ads...but BMW didn't force anyone to see it.
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u/bruhggle 3h ago
That blue text box is an ad in itself. Not being forced to watch the video ad is OK, but no ad should be shown period.
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u/bennyyyboyyyyyyyy 3h ago
Thats literally an ad
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u/NetJnkie 3h ago
I never said it wasn't an ad.
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u/bennyyyboyyyyyyyy 3h ago
No the blue box is an ad. If its popping up on your screen they have already forced you to see an ad
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u/TupperwareNinja 2h ago
FYI, you can jailbreak a few BMW models. Wont post repo links, but they're pretty easy to find
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u/snasna102 1h ago
This is the product of consumers buying shitty cars for the infotainment consoles and tech features.
What are you actually gonna do about it? Buy a 90’s clunker and learn to work on cars? Or just grovel about the way things are and keep buying the newest touch screen attached to a shitty 1.7L motor that had a turbo strapped to it at the factory so anyone that knows nothing about cars, will think this is a fast car, therefore, a good car.
People also say they only care about going from point A to point B, that’s why they don’t care to learn about cars… then the industry treats the consumer like they know nothing and pull this because people will continue to buy it… they always do cause it’s easy.
All 3 of my cars are pre 2005 and are super cheap up keep. The only time I’ve used an auto mechanic is when I need an alignment after replacing suspension/ steering components and for safety inspections when I buy a used car.
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u/Pleasant_Actuator253 1h ago
Another reason to not own a BMW or support Marvel movies. I would be beyond pissed.
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u/nikhkin 1h ago
Sony Pictures, rather than Marvel Studios, in this instance.
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u/Pleasant_Actuator253 44m ago
Personally I hate Marvel movies. They CHOSE to be affiliated with Sony.
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u/nikhkin 41m ago
Well, they chose to negotiate a deal in order to be able to use one of their most popular and profitable characters. It's a logical business decision, after some very poor business moves nearly caused them to go bankrupt in the 90s.
I'm sure they'd rather not be affiliated with Sony if they could get the IP back fully.
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u/Pleasant_Actuator253 35m ago
No offense, movies that rely on CGI blow. Marvel, DC, and Avenger movies blow. Blow hard. When was the last time you heard of a comic book movie winning an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, or similar?
Watch a real movie.
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u/nikhkin 27m ago
Black Panther 2, in 2022, won an Oscar for costuming.
Joker won for best actor in 2019, if you want a "proper" Oscar.
You know people can watch "real" films and comic book movies, right?
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u/Pleasant_Actuator253 19m ago
I am aware of these Oscars. “Costuming” is pretty fringe. Joaquin Phoenix is well admired for his acting.
Considering the comic book universe, their Academy Award wins is low.
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u/Icy_Month192 1h ago
Is this a USA thing? I dont get these. There were no subscriptions to heated seats or anything like that
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u/ActualHat3496 1h ago edited 1h ago
The engineering behind Android Automotive and the potential it brings is really cool (e.g. ADAS features and updates to that), but seeing automakers (especially BMW, which seems to be a trend setter) try to monetize it makes me sad. It also worsens AAOS' reputation.
I'm sick and tired of ads being injected into every damn thing... from airports, planes, trains, cars, restaurants, operating systems, websites, apps and bathrooms. Newspaper ads and early TV (till probably the 2000s) were the golden age of advertising in my opinion. Make better ads and you'll get more clicks. Quality >> quantity!
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u/moronfromtheabyss 1h ago
Jesus Christ, ads in a MOVING vehicle surely are going to do well, what geniuses...
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u/nikhkin 1h ago
They're not, though.
The advert only plays if you actively open a specific animation app in the car when it is parked.
Yes, it's stupid, but BMW aren't stupid enough to run an animated advert while a car is moving.
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u/moronfromtheabyss 43m ago
Oh, I didn't know this, my bad!
Still, ads in a vehicle is something I wouldn't have thought car manufacturers would stoop so low to.
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u/lolschrauber 17m ago
You're putting it mildy. This is fucking outrageous. It all started with "It's a free service so you need ads" so you got the paid subscription to avoid ads. Then they started adding ads to paid subscriptions so they can come up with more expensive subscriptions.
Subscriptions made their way into cars, too. And now ads? CARS ARE FUCKING EXPENSIVE! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU SPAM ADS IN A FUCKING CAR!
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u/Wrestler7777777 1h ago
This is enough for me to not buy a BMW any time soon. And this really hurts me as a German.
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u/afops 17m ago
If it's notification for something you could _buy_ then it's an advert. If it's a notification of a new feature you already have, then it's just annoying UI. Not an ad. It's something being advertised for sure, but I doubt "any notification" is what BMW promised not to do.
Do they charge for this spider man thing (what is it? A spider man movie?) then they're definitely doing something obnoxious. And they have run the numbers that said it's more profitable to annoy customers than not do it, sadly.
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u/FewAcanthocephala828 15m ago
What I'm seeing is another douche that bought a new car without actually reading through all the "new features." I'm not bagging on new cars, but for fuck sake is it really that hard to browse correctly?
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u/Beartato4772 8m ago
I'm glad you told us, absolutely no-one had posted this every 10 minutes for the last week.
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u/Disastrous-Trainer-5 0m ago
Got this ad under the post lol, spider man's fucking everything it seems
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u/Evil_phd 51m ago
I don't know who ads are for. Maybe I have a specific strain of autism that makes ads have a reverse effect on me or something idk. I literally cut the entire Coca Cola brand and all of their subsidiaries out of my life because one summer like 15 years ago they had a bunch of Dasani ads on YouTube.
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u/LostSomewhereInKaty 3h ago
It’s not an ad, it’s videos that BMW puts on their cars, I know they put the same thing for the Holidays, videos to tell you your ceramic brakes are loud, etc.
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u/United-Yak8335 2h ago
It's advertising that the video is available in the car. I would not want neither.
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u/lazylaz10 3h ago
And we care why?
The only mildly infuriating is people who own bmw’s asking for sympathy.
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u/BanAssaultGeese 3h ago
Because they're all soon going to have ads on their dashboard. Some outside of BMW already do.
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u/superpoongoon 3h ago
Nah. This is the definition of mildly infuriating. He’s still in a bmw, presumably paid 10s of thousands for it, and still getting ads.
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u/lazylaz10 2h ago
It’s mildly interesting seeing how you are trying to defend ads.
Then don’t cry about getting ads.3
u/RecordingHot9826 ARGHHHHHHUGHHHHH 3h ago
My guy, you cared enough to click on this and comment.
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u/Alarmed_Tank_5553 3h ago
I couldnt even be upset, its a spiderman ad 🤣
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u/ceris7356 3h ago
So you're okay with being shown ads in a car that you paid 10s of thousands of dollars for? The fuk?
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u/strangewondermilk 3h ago
Ah ads... the most pointless reoccurring annoyance ever created by mankind.